brillohead

I'm home now, so can share my pics of Labadee -- loungers and umbrellas galore!!!! These are all at Columbus Cove. Nellie's Beach is considerably smaller, so might be harder to find a lounger. But Adrenaline Beach (under the zip line) is long and full of loungers as well.

I'm better off without her toxicity in my life... wish I'd cut the ties that bind a lot sooner, but at least I was able to protect my son from her. And my experiences with my adoptive family meant that finding and being accepted and loved by my biological father last year was all the sweeter! Even though I told him I was home for the weekend and had plenty of food plus city water and a gas furnace and a gas water heater and a generator if we lost power, so I had absolutely no reason to nor intention of leaving the house during the Snowmageddon and Big Chill, my bio-dad still called and texted me four times over the weekend, just to make sure I was safe. 💗

If you already have a Wahl, you don't need to bother with a beard trimmer unless he just wants a smaller device. Just choose the length of the guard you want, and away you go. I bought a Wahl for my son and his father's hair almost 20 years ago, and my ex is still using it to buzz his hair and trim his beard. He even uses it to trim his eyebrows so they don't look like caterpillars. One time he forgot to put a guard on at all and he did one eyebrow -- BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ, and it was gone, so then he had to buzz off the other one so his face would be symmetrical! 🤣

Chiming in here to confirm what others have said. When they rebuilt Coco Cay, they also added a BUNCH of loungers and umbrellas to Labadee. Before then, loungers were available but you had to look around and drag it to where you wanted it, and it was hard to find any shade, but now it's set up like Coco Cay with rows and rows of loungers with umbrellas at alternating pairs. (I have a picture I can post, but I'm at work and it's saved on my computer at home.) I don't understand why people spend money on the "loungers for two with a clamshell" when they can get two loungers with an umbrella (with better ventilation than the clamshell) for free! Ditto for the beach beds -- to get sun protection, you have to enclose yourself in the curtains, which cuts off your breeze. As stated, they might not open the buffet at Columbus Cove depending on the number of passengers, but there are free trams that will take you back and forth. (And even if the buffet isn't open, the bar will be!) Or if you have a late breakfast on the ship, you may not want to bother with lunch ashore at all.

Are you teaching ASL, or just the "kiddie sign language" for the most-used words? I had grand plans to use signing with my kid, but every time I tried to teach him a sign, he'd just say the darn word instead!!! He had a legit vocabulary of over 100 words at 13 months (my MIL and I wrote them all down to count them). I had high hopes that his extreme verbal skills would translate into a love of reading, but I was mightily disappointed -- he inherited his father's lack of interest in the written word. True to form, though, he will talk your ear off to this day!!!!

PLEASE share this video when it is completed!!!

I loved when my son got his license. My rule was that he had no curfew, but he always had to call me and let me know when he was headed home. This served two purposes: 1. It gave me an idea of when to expect him, and when to start worrying if he wasn't home by the ETA. Until he exceeded the ETA, I just didn't worry. 2. It gave me a built-in DoorDash driver!!! I'd text him my order and he'd go through the applicable drive-thru and bring me my food! Recommendation for those with high-school-aged kids (or grandkids): If the parents have a decent credit score, get an "authorized user" card in the child's name (with rules about what/how much it can be used for). Even though the child isn't legally liable to pay the account (which is in the parent's name), they still get acknowledged for the responsible usage of a credit card, and it's reflected in their credit score. Most kids don't have a credit history until they're living on their own and paying for utilities, etc., and then they have to start at nothing and build their history/score up as they go. But being an authorized user on a card starts establishing a credit history before they even graduate high school, and makes it easier to rent an apartment, get a car loan with a lower interest rate, and get a lower premium on their insurance. In my case, I gave the kid two different authorized user credit cards. One was The Mom Card, so if I sent him for food or to fill my car's gas tank or whatever, he used that card (and if he was picking up food for me, he was allowed to get food for himself on my card). The other was The Kid Card -- if he was getting gas for his car, or taking his girlfriend to dinner, or buying a pair of shoes beyond what I provided for him, he put it on his card, and he paid me in cash at the end of the month so I could pay off the card each cycle. When he graduated high school, even though he had no job (he was leaving in a week for the Army, but wasn't drawing a paycheck yet), he qualified for a $2500 credit card limit from our credit union without even asking (they just offered it to him when we went to open his checking account). He was the only kid in his barracks with a credit score >800. I still remember the time he texted me and said, "I just checked my credit score -- thanks, Momma!" 🙂

The VD rate there is astonishing....

I've seen practices before 6am for high school kids. Ice is very in demand (and expensive!). We built a rink in our yard a couple years when my son was just getting started. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work without a Zamboni!

Except for some of us, our mothers BRING stress instead of relieve it!!! Coming up on 22 years since I've seen/talked to my mother, and I have no desire to ever do so again.

There's no hockey like PLAYOFF HOCKEY!!!! It's on a whole 'nother level!

Are you talking about a suite, or just a balcony room? If it's just a balcony room, there probably isn't room for the bed by the windows.

@FromSea2ShiningSea, congrats on the new babies!!! I'm looking forward to being a grandma someday, but my son is still in his early 20s and unmarried, so I can wait a while. In the meantime, I'll ooh and aah over everyone else's little bundles of joy! Speaking of which, @Ozark_Kid hasn't been sharing as many Kenzie stories lately.... whassup with that???

Since we're being enablers for @Ozark_Kid, I had to share this one here for his Dada-base:

Well, I don't even bother taking my mask and snorkel off the ship at Coco Cay anymore. You might see the occasional fish along the edges where the rocks are, but there's really not any "good snorkeling" at Coco Cay.

Yes, the drink package is good at any bar on the ship.

I didn't understand why he wasn't doing a bunch of "ptooey" afterward -- how was his mouth not FULL of hair???

Okay, cat people... now you know! https://www.facebook.com/reel/369975765612491

For those thinking of making a New Year Resolution....

Planned obsolescence... can't make more money if people aren't buying new products!